Chapter 16 Quiz 2

. Which statement about Ethel Merman's career is NOT true?

She added depth to her roles through her skill as an actress

She was renowned for her sweet, smooth voice

She worked with great writers of musicals like Sondheim, Styne, and Gershwin

By the end of her career she was considered the "Queen of Musicals"

. Which feature of "Ol' Man River" is considered unusual for musical tenor songs?

The repetitive rhythms

The AABA form

The fact that it was written for a bass

None of the above

. Consider the following statement and choose the best response: "In a standard musical theater song, the verse functions as a free-rhythm introduction, followed by the chorus or main melody of the song; the bridge is usually between iterations of the chorus and is usually in a contrasting or reflective mood."

The statement is true.

The statement is false because the verse is the main melody, not an introduction.

The statement is false because the chorus is the part sung by the background singers.

The statement is false because the bridge does not contrast with the chorus in anything but tonal center.

. What aspect of the song "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" from Evita is unusual?

Most of the text is in Latin.

The orchestra plays a strictly accompanimental style.

The verse and chorus are in contrasting styles.

The chorus is only sung three times, while the verse is sung four times.

. In the long-standing tradition of reworking operas into musicals, Elton John and Tim Rice reworked which Verdi opera into a musical of the same name?

La traviata

Falstaff

South Pacific

Aida

. Which of the following is NOT true of "I Could Have Danced All Night" from My Fair Lady?

The song climaxes at the very end, as usual for this type of solo song in a musical.

The chorus is sung three times with different words each time.

The orchestra both doubles the melody and presents countermelodies.

The bridge is longer than usual for this time period, occurring over several measure of extended solo singing from the main female character.

. What is the distinguishing feature of the "book musical"?

For the first time, songs and dances moved the story forward rather than interrupting it.

They were the first form of staged music to use spoken dialogue rather than recitative.

They were the first musicals difficult enough to be performed strictly at the professional level.

None of the above.

. Which statement about Hairspray is NOT true?

The musical originated as a film and was brought to Broadway by Shaiman and Wittman.

The musical deals with serious themes of racial integration, prejudice, and obesity.

The music of the show features rhythm and blues mixed with 1960s pop music.

The musical is set in Washington, DC.

. Musicals like Chorus Line, Stomp, and Bring in da' Noise, Bring in da' Funk have what in common?

All three draw extensively from operetta traditions

None of these are actually "musicals," they are more properly considered "revues"

They are all heavily inspired by dance

Nothing, they are all vastly different shows with no common elements

. Which genre is NOT considered a precursor of modern musical theater?

Operetta

Vaudeville

Minstrelsy

None of the above

. What is unique about the structure of the song "Can't Stop the Beat" from Hairspray?

While it's in the standard AB two-part format, each of those larger sections has its own interior AB structure.

It makes extensive use of the ritornello device.

It is actually an extended rondo form.

Nothing, it is entirely normal for a musical theater song.

. On what are Claude Michel-Schonberg's two most famous musicals based?

A novel by Victor Hugo and an opera by Puccini

The life of a famous South American dictator's wife (Evita) and a play by Shakespeare

Two plays by G. B. Shaw

A Greek myth and the New Testament of the Christian Bible

. In ___ by Leonard Bernstein, ___ take the place of the two families in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

West Side Story / street gangs

Oklahoma! / cowboys and landowners

My Fair Lady / warring factions of clergy

Into the Woods / fairy tale creatures

. Consider the following statement and choose the best response: "The French revue, of which the most famous example is Paris's Ziegfeld Follies, was built around one star performer's special abilities and consisted of dances, songs, and comedy routines."

The statement is true.

The statement is false because the Ziegfeld Follies were in New York, not Paris.

The statement is false because the French revue was not built around any one performer.

The statement is false because dances were not part of the French revue tradition.

. Which composer is NOT considered an important writer of early musical comedies?

Jerome Kern

Cole Porter

Irving Berlin

Andrew Lloyd Webber

Chapter 16 Quiz 2

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